Tales Of Pristinia

Marze finally agreed to join me in this journey. However, first we must get out of Dumandan and make a plan to find the other six. We cannot go over the city as the angry merpeople might attack us again. Fortunately, the alley that we hid in leads to a street to the city's western gate. We swiftly swam as fast as our tails could take us. We were nearly seen but thankfully we managed to get out safely.

When we exited the city, Marze looked at me and laughed.

"What's so funny?" I asked her.

"Well, your pointy elven ears are quite a mismatch for a tail, which makes you look funny," she covered her mouth while laughing.

"Hey, I haven't mastered Transformation yet!" I sulked. "Anyways let's get farther away from this city."

We went far from the city. After going a distance, we stopped and planned for our next move.

"What should we do now Lance?" She asked me.

"Well how far is it to the capital?" I answered.

"You mean Mhaidemoisle, the Fluerian capital city? It is really far to the southeast," she folded her arms.

"I see," I nodded.

"But I think we shouldn't go to the capital," she declared.

"How come?"

"There is a very strong magical barrier in the capital, one that can dispel all types of magic. If we go there your Transformation will be cancelled and you will revert back to an elf. When that happens, they will apprehend you and maybe perhaps keep you from leaving Fluere until the war ends. The queen will surely do everything in her power to keep Fluere away from the war." She answered.

"The queen?"

"Yes, our ruler, the mermaid with the golden scales, who protects all of the merpeople -- Queen Zeah II."

"I see, I guess Mhaidemoisle's a trap then."

"Yes, it is."

"What do you suggest we do?" I asked Marze.

"I think we should find the other six first and head south-southwest towards Aenia, land of the fairies and find the chosen fairy."

"That sounds like a good plan!" I exclaimed.

"Should we get going?"

"Yes, I think we should!"

She summoned a hippocampus again.

"We should first head to Pterne, my hometown. It is a town in the middle of Fluerian territory. We should make a temporary stop there for tonight and continue go south." She said as she grabbed my hand and went southward at full speed.

"How do you know where we're going?" I asked her.

"I'm a mermaid and these are merpeople waters, it is natural instinct you could say," she answered.

We started travelling at mid-morning and we managed to arrive early evening. The town gates were open as seen from afar. There was a large tower overlooking the town and on top of the tower was a spherical shiny structure that shone from where we were. As we got closer to Pterne, I noticed so many of those things similar to the tower's spherical object. We stopped before reaching the town gates.

"What are those spherical things?" I asked Marze.

"They are pearls," she said as she let go of the hippocampus.

"Pearls?"

"Yeah, pearls. My town is the largest harvester and exporter of pearls in Fluere and in Pristinia. Even the queen wears pearls from our town!" Her eyes glittered.

"Is it really that popular?"

"It is that popular! Come I'll introduce you to everyone," she grabbed my hand and we went inside the town gates.

When I entered, the pearls were marvelous! It was a utopia of glittering and glistening underwater glamour. The merpeople living in that town were very kind. They greeted Marze and welcomed her with open arms. Marze showed me to her house. It was a large red coral. It seems all mer houses are made from the same coral.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Marze asked me. "I know that I'll have to get used to sleeping when there isn't any water but this could be the last time I'm going to sleep here."

"Of course," I said. "Well can you show me to the 'special other races' quarters'?"

"Yeah, it's this way," she led me to a similar building as we found in the village near the border.

I entered the space and dragged my way inside the cabin, since I still haven't transformed back yet. This time it had only one bed and one set of items, all were still magically imbued. I dispelled Transformation, then I got my clothes from my pouch and changed to my u.n.d.e.r.g.a.r.m.e.n.ts. I ate supper from the fruits I got from the Mistwood where I rested before reaching Fluere. Then I slept peacefully.

The next morning I took all of my clothes off again and put them in my pouch. Then I went in front of the portal. Then suddenly, Marze was entering and I had to quickly call the Regalia to cover n.a.k.e.d me.

"Wait, close your eyes!" I shouted.

"Pervert!" She shouted.

Then quickly I cast Transformation and became a merman. You can now open your eyes. She was blushing and got a nosebleed yet she was filled with rage. She smacked my head again and dragged me outside the space.

"Anyways Lance," she turned serious. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" I asked.

"One of the pearl harvesters got injured by a clam this morning and now that injury is turning black. Our healers have did everything they could but it won't heal. What's worse, he is becoming more like the humans that we fought. The clams too are getting agressive."

"Where is he?" I asked

"In my house," she answered.

Without saying another word, I grabbed Marze's hand and swiftly went into her house. I saw the injured merman. His injury was indeed turning black and he seems to be getting into berserk.

I cast Heal and Restore but they did not have any effect. Then I heard Erian's voice:

"You'll have to purify him!"

"Lance," Marze called out to me. "Let's do it!" It seems she also heard Erian.

We closed our eyes again and held each other's hands. I focused my energy and felt it flowing towards the point where the crystal touches my c.h.e.s.t. Then that blinding flash of light appeared again. When I opened my eyes the merman's injury disappeared and he returned to normal. Then I heard Erian's voice again:

"Purify the thing that injured him!"

Marze and I swiftly went to the pearl farm where we purified the clams group by group. We started from the smallest to the largest clams.

We were kind of tired from all this purifying. But Marze was happy that I helped save her town from a probable ruin.